The hairy raised one

[Prajwal J Ullal]

Recently had been to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a much awaited affair for me, and enjoyed a leisure walk along with few photo enthusiastic friends. Along the walk one of the very commonly/ frequently spotted thing was this hairy crawler(caterpillar). Whole of the trees were infested with these crawlers and along with mild showers and interesting lighting conditions these turned out to be a really good subject to capture, especially with these small droplets lying on its hairy fur. One such attempt is the image I have shared.

It was interesting to note that these would crawl really fast and could cover more than a meter in lass than a minute, also if any small insects used to bother it, it would wag its back area like a tail.

EXIF:
Canon EOS 550D
Canon 55-250IS
F/7.1
Shutterspeed 1/200
ISO-800
-2.3Step
No crop
Handheld
In built flash used

P.S.:ID help needed, In Mangalore there is something called Kambalipudu, which if scratched wud lead to severe itching and discomfort. Dont know if this is the same one.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Lovely composition. Interesting angle. Agree the water drops give a nice feel to the image. I think in Marathi we call it 'Survanta' :). Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

This caterpillar is very common indeed, especially in SGNP. It is interesting to watch them rappel down from branches using their silken threads :D. These do cause an itch if disturbed. They are called "kambalkeed" (literally meaning 'blanket worm') in Konkani. Might be the same thing you saw in Mangalore.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Saan balua in oriya.
Personally I had a scare during my childhood days when one of these fell down into my food. They especially love the sajana chuin tree (drum sticks). We used to have these fellows crawling into our house.